The Five: Next Time
by K. M. Henry
Summary: (Chapter Five added!) The war is over. The fighing is done... The Yeerks are gone... Or so they thought..
1. Prologue and Chapter One

"The Five: Next Time"  
Toby Marie Henry  
Copyright 2001  
  
Prologue  
  
I slammed the book shut, afraid to even bother reading it. Book fifty-three had sent me for a loop when Jake told his last name and age. I was too nervous to even read book fifty-four, the last book. It was all over, the conclusion to the war and all. Who was going to win? It was all two nerve-racking for me to even bother. I might as well set the book on my shelf and look at. Maybe if I never read it, the war wouldn't end. Yeah right, Laura, I thought to myself, You know it is only a book. Nothing is going to happen.   
  
Chapter One  
  
My name is Laura, and I know that from what you've read you know it would be okay for me to tell my last name, my town, my age, but I can't do that. I will tell someday if I can. I think it would be good to be able to tell the truth once in awhile. Never lie unless you absolutely have to, because it will ruin your life. I know it will because I lie almost every day.   
Let me start from the beginning.  
I was at a school football game. Football was the only thing we actually had to do on a Friday night. The mall usually didn't hold a lot on interest in people until Saturday when everyone went. Our school doesn't have the best football team, and once the score hit 6 to 49 in favor of the other team, I got up and took a walk. I walked around the track to the opposing team's side.  
"Laura!" I heard from behind me and I turned around to see Sari. "Wait up already! I've been calling you for the past five minutes, I guess you didn't hear. Pretty lousy game going huh? We're getting ourselves killed again."  
"Yeah, I guess." I replied. I was grateful for Sari's company but I also couldn't believe I'd wasted five dollars to come see this pathetic thing the people called a football game.   
Sari and I continued to walk the track while we talked about school and plans for the weekend. Eventually the conversation turned to my worst subject: Boys. Sari went on about Matthew and his twin brother John, and I gave up on trying to follow the entire conversation. My experience with boys was zero. Sari on the other hand had gone out with every guy in the school it seemed. Her bright green eyes, deep auburn hair, and fair skin seemed to draw guys to her like a thirst camel to the water. My dark brown hair and pale blue eyes didn't do as well because I was the only girl at the school to have them. I had my guy-friends and I don't really want a boyfriend at the moment anyway.  
"Hey Laura! Watch out!" A voice called to me.  
I turned just in time to see a football flying at me head and even less time to catch it so instead I ducked and let John catch it behind me.  
"Okay, who's trying to cut my head off this time?" I asked looking from Michael to John and Tyler.   
"Tyler threw it." Michael said.  
"You know what? I don't care. I want out of this place." I looked up at the score board which read 6 to 60 with 10 minutes remaining. "If we left now, we could get out before the traffic hit. There is no way we are winning this game."  
"Yeah, we might as well go," Tyler said, "I was getting bored anyway."  
Tyler is my best friend, even if he is a guy. We grew up as neighbors so we know everything about one another. He has dark brown eyes and black hair, which hasn't been cut in a year. His skin looked like he slept in a tanning bed because he was always a dark brown color. His mother, who is white, married a black man and they were married for nine years before his father got killed in a plane crash. We never talk about that much.  
Heading out of the field area, Mrs. Nox told us to have a nice night but that if we wanted to get back in we would have to pay another five dollars. Like I was going to be coming back to this murder of a football game. Mrs. Nox is the Principal of our school; her two sons are two friends of mine, Michael and John. During school and school events, they act like they don't know each other.   
We headed out to the parking lot where we could cross the street and cut through the woods to our homes. We all lived within the same five-mile radius of each other. We walked into the woods and instantly five flashlight beams cut on. We had all thought alike and realized we wouldn't be staying at that game the entire night. The woods got dark at night and seeing was nearly impossible without a flashlight.  
We walked for nearly ten minutes, the normal walk took about fifteen, when a strange blue light passed over the woods like a search light. I looked up and saw some type of odd-looking airplane. I followed it in the air until it fell in the close by opening. I ran after like any teenage fool would do and came to a stop to be what I thought was an airplane.   
In fact, this craft didn't look a think like an airplane. It looked more like an Andalite fighter from the Animorphs series Tyler and I both read. That was a ridiculous idea though. No way was this an actual fighter, besides the war was over. The Yeerks were gone. I stepped up to the craft just as the door opened and a small compact disk fell from the opening and rolled to my feet. I kneeled to touch it and the second I did a holographic image popped up of an Andalite. A female Andalite  
My name is Aklia-Tremmna-Sylia. I have been shot down by Yeerk fighters and and badly injured, if not dead. Most humans now know about the Yeerk invasion and how it ended, but they are back again. Trying to infest the planet once more.  



	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
My mind instantly started to race. How could the Yeerks even exist? It was all just a book series, or so I had thought. I couldn't put my thoughts in order, I glanced over at Tyler and the others and they just looked petrified. I wondered if our group of five was infested, I didn't see any looks of contempt, I just saw five terrified teenage kids looking for a way home after a lousy football game.  
  
The hologram of Aklia continued to speak in her smooth voice of a warrior, The Yeerks know that they have succeeded in shooting my fighter down, and they will come to destroy the remains of my ship. A new Visser has been assigned to this plant, Visser Seven. He is beginning again with a silent invasion, the less people who know, the more chances he has of success.  
  
Once again I looked around me, and once again I saw faces that shown with pure terror. None of them knew what was going except for myself. I was the only one who read Animorphs; I was the only one who knew. All the news broadcasts had been drastically changed before airing on the ten o'clock news, if they aired at all.   
  
The hologram continued on, The Yeerks are parasitic alien slugs who crawl into the ear of a body they call a "host." They take over the mind of that "host" and take complete control over the body. The "host" is completely helpless to do anything against them.  
  
In the distance I heard the faint buzz. A sound I had never heard before, but I could guess that bug fighters were on their way to the crash site. They would be here any moment and if we didn't clear away from the area, would be taken. I jumped around the hologram, knowing that my friends all needed to hear the message completely. The ramp into the Andalite fighter was open to its entirety so I easily ran inside.  
  
"Laura! What are you doing?" Michael called after me, "Get back here! You don't know what you're doing!"   
  
I didn't listen to his orders. I knew exactly what I was doing, and I knew exactly what we were up against. The inside of the ship hit me with a wave of familiarity. Jake had described it perfectly with a few minor changes due to technology advancement. I searched quickly while the buzz of Yeerk fighters grew nearer to us. Looking past the control panel for a moment, I saw the fallen Andalite warrior. She was covered partially in blood from two major cuts across her back and arm.   
  
I forced myself to look away from Aklia and my eye caught a faint blue glow hidden under some rubble of a panel. Kneeling by it, I threw parts of it aside and found what I had begun my search for in the first place: The Blue Box. The blue box held the morphing technology inside it and without it we couldn't fight the Yeerks.   
  
"Laura!" Michael called again, "Get out here now! Someone else is coming and we need to move. This thing said they will blow up the ship and if we don't get out now, we'll be killed in the explosion."  
  
I hate to admit it, but Michael was right. The Yeerks would fire their Dracons and complete destroy Aklia's ship and everything within blasting range. I ran down the ramp, Aklia's holographic-self continued talking but I picked up the disk in my free hand as I ran and it cut off. I stuck the disk in my pocket and cut my flashlight off, the blue box tucked carefully under my shirt to hide the glow.  
  
"Hey," I yelled as the others ran slightly ahead of me, "cut your flashlights off or the Yeerks are going to find us."   
  
That got everyone's attention and four beams off light cut off around me and ahead of me. The buzzing of the Bug Fighters continued to become louder along with the backwash from them. The wind picked up so much that I had to stop running because I couldn't open my eyes enough to see. Turning away from the wind and looking up, I spotted an extremely large aircraft I knew to be a bug fighter.  
  
TTTSSSEEEWW!  
  
Dust flew up as the Dracon fire hit the ship. At first I didn't think the ship had been effected by the huge blast. It was almost as if time had stopped for a moment and then a rumble started up in the ship, which slowly became louder.  
  
Ka-BOOOOOM!  
  
The ship exploded outward sending small fragments of metal flying throughout the air. I closed my eyes and waited for the air around me to calm down before I looked again. For the most part, the Yeerks blew the ship into non-existence and the fighters landed all around the mess. I stumbled trying to start running again as the Bug Fighters' doors opened and the Hork-Bajir and Taxxons stepped out to surround the destruction they caused. I looked around me and saw no sign of the others and I hopped they had made it out because I wasn't sure if I was going to.  



	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
  
The Yeerks hadn't noticed where I stood, or so I could see. I moved over to hide behind a large Oak tree. 'This isn't going to plan. I'm not supposed to be stuck here with the Yeerks twenty feet away.' I thought to myself. 'What am I talking about? The Yeerks aren't supposed to exist!'  
  
I peaked out from behind the tree to see what the Yeerks had started now. It seemed they were waiting for something, and as soon as I realized this, a Visser's Blade ship landed where the Andalite fighter had been standing moments earlier. Visser Seven would step out of that ship and congratulate his followers on exploding the ship, and then ask if anyone was nearby when it happened. He might send out troops to search the area and I couldn't get away from here without being seen.  
  
The Blade ship's door opened and a pause followed soon after. My stomach did flips inside me. I felt so nervous that I thought I would be sick. Suddenly Hork-Bajir stepped out of the Ship and onto the ground followed by a human. Visser seven had a human host. This could be advantageous to us and it could also get us killed. I looked harder at Visser Seven and realized that he was actually a she, at least the human was.   
  
I knew right then I would throw up. I had to look away from the scene. The human was someone I knew very well, that human was my mother. I wanted to scream and cry at just the same instant. Visser Seven had taken over my own mother for his host. Why did he take my own mother though instead of some other high-ranking person? I didn't have to ask that question to know the answer. He wanted a silent invasion and the best way to do that would be to have a not very important human host. He would blend in all to perfectly with her as his host.  
  
It also made it nearly impossible for me to stay at my house much longer. He would probably order the family infested so that he could keep other controllers there. I didn't know what I was going to do. Yes I did, I would find out who the other Animorphs actually were and I would ask them for help. They know more about this war than we do and they could at least point us in the right direction.  
  
I looked up at the tree and saw that I could easily climb up to hide. I pulled myself into the tree and hid within the leaves, completely hidden. I couldn't hear what was being said by the Yeerks but soon after, a spread of Hork-Bajir dashed out from under me, looking for anyone who might have seen them.   
  
I shut my eyes and held my breath, I knew Hork-Bajir hearing was extremely good but their night vision could use some work. I didn't move for what felt like hours on end. When I opened my eyes, the Yeerks had cleared out and I jumped down from the tree. Looking at my watch, I saw that it ten until Midnight. My mom would go thermal and to make it worse, Visser Seven would suspect me. I couldn't go home, not tonight.   
  
I ran out of the woods and back towards the school where I could get to a pay phone. Everyone had already left the game and I seriously hopped that my story would pass for the truth. I dialed in my number and waited, the phone rang once before it was answered.  
  
"Where are you?" My mother scolded. "You should have been home an hour ago, where are you? I'm coming to get you right now, young lady. You are in deep trouble missy."  
  
"Mom, chill out. I'm perfectly all right." I tried my best to keep my voice calm. I knew I was talking to the Visser first hand and he was talking back. "The game went into overtime and I'm going to stay at Sari's for the night, I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, I love you, mom."   
  
I hung up before I could get a response and then I turned back and left the school. Getting into Sari's house would be easy, she would still be awake and her room was on the first floor. All I had to do was knock on the window. She would take me in and let me stay without a problem.   
  
The woods seemed even darker now that I had plenty of fear to fill the shadows. A Hork-Bajir or a Taxxon could be hiding anywhere and I would be powerless to even try to stop them. After five jumpy shaken minutes, the woods opened up to a street. I could get to Sari's house within two minutes.  
  
I turned down the last street to Sari's house. The light was on in her room and I had no problem getting her attention. The window flew open after about two knocks and Sari's terrified face turned slightly to relief.  
  
"What happened? We got out of the woods and then we realized you weren't with us. Tyler wanted to go back and look for you but Michael told us that you knew what you were doing. I was really scared you had been killed." Sari was close to crying as she pulled me in through the window and shut it.  
  
"I'm okay, but I found out a lot of sickening information that I should share with the group tomorrow." I pulled the Aklia's holographic disk out of my pocket and it cut on again but I instantly switched if off. The disk would no doubt wake up any of Sari's family.  
  
I set the disk and the blue box on a table and moved stuff in front of them and over them to hide the disk and box from prying eyes. I sat down on Sari's bed and looked at where the two objects were hidden.  
  
"It's okay if I stay the night here, right? I can't go home to my mom. Stuff has happened and it's two dangerous to."  
  
Sari looked confused but nodded, "Sure you can stay. There isn't a problem."  
  
BRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGG!  
  
Sari's phone rang and the caller ID flashed up as a number out of state. Sari looked at me and shrugged. We were both very jumpy but the sound would wake up family. Even if it was Sari's own line, she had a very loud phone.  
  
BRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGG!  
  
I reached for the phone, seeing that Sari wouldn't answer and spoke into it visibly shaken. What if I picked it up and it was the Visser?  
  
"H…Hello?" I stammered  
  
"Who's this?" The voice was male and very demanding even if he did seem to be very young.  
  
"Laura, who are you?"  
  
The reply wasn't to me because it seemed far off, "Ax, it is Laura. I think we have the right place. Whatever you picked up worked." Then to me he said, "Anyone else there?"  



	4. 

Chapter Four  
  
Whoa, was this Jake? As in "Oh fearless?" Were the books true? Of course they were… I had seen the Yeerks for myself had I not? My mom was Visser Seven for crying out loud. She would have me infested the moment I stepped in the front door. We really needed help and we needed it soon. Any advice would help, but how to go about asking for it?  
  
"Hello? Are you still there?" The voice returned, "You have no idea who I am but my friend picked up a signal that came from your house. He picked it up earlier and then it disappeared. I don't have much time, this line might be traced, but you guys have to know…"  
  
"Look, Jake," I took a wild stab in the dark and hoped I wasn't going to embarrass myself, "I don't need this crap about how I'm up to my neck in trouble. I know that the Yeerks are here and I know that they are trying to take over the planet. I know what Hork-Bajir and Taxxons are. I know all about Visser Three and One. I know about you and the other Animorphs. I know how many times you could have died but didn't. I know everything you know plus more. I know that the new Visser is Visser Seven and she's taken my mom. I know that the moment I go home, I'll be taken. No, this isn't my house, it's Sari's. Yes, she's with me."  
  
I wasn't about to let him stop me until I completed what I wanted to say. I had the feeling I was forgetting something. What was it? What could I have possibly forgotten?  
  
"Do you have the ability to morph?" Jake replied as if answering my thoughts.   
  
Of course! How could I have forgotten about that horribly strong power? Ever since I had started reading the Animorphs books, I'd wanted to morph and fly. I turned and looked at where I had hidden the cube. "No, we don't, but we have the cube. The morphing cube."  
  
"We? How many of you are there?" Jake asked cautiously.  
  
"Five, Jake… Five seemingly normal humans brought into a war against their will. Four don't know what's going on, but I do. Five seemingly normal humans who will have the ability to morph, that's what we have. Five against the entire Yeerk force. Sound familiar to you, Jake?"  
  
"Unfortunately"   
  
"Yeah, but we've no choice, do we? We'll fight, Jake, and that's all. We'll fight and we will win." I hung up; I had the proof I needed. He wouldn't call back. It was well past one in the morning and if he felt like it, he could gather his group and fly out here. Ax probably traced the call and now knows exactly what state, what county, what house, and what room we were standing in.  
  
I looked over at Sari. She looked visibly shaken and extremely tired. Ever since I'd met Sari, I don't think I'd ever seen her up past midnight. I sighed, there was nothing else that could be done tonight except sleep and that's what I planned on doing.   
  
"Come on Sari," I said soothingly, "Let's get some sleep, tomorrow you'll understand and tomorrow we'll hold our first meeting. The five of us will hold a meeting. Tonight we sleep, I don't know how much of sleep we'll be getting in the very near future."  
  
Sari said nothing but got in her bed and curled into a nervous ball. I was struck by a thought, had Cassie felt this scared when the war started, and why didn't I feel nervous at all? We were facing sudden death with my mom holding the gun. 'Don't worry about it,' I told myself, 'Just get some sleep and we'll figure this out tomorrow.'  
  
I cut the light out in the room and lay down next to Sari in the bed. I was asleep before I could realize I had shut my eyes.  
  
***  
  
Michael yawned. I had called everyone over to Sari's house at around noon; most of us didn't rise out of bed until one. This had to be talked about. I got my, "good-to-see-you-alives," and "are-you-completely-insanes?" Yeah I'm alive and yeah I'm insane, but I created the advantage we had in the war. The Blue Box was ours.  
  
Sari's mom had left around nine that morning and now we sat on the couch and chairs of her living room with the blue box and holographic disk on the center table. How would someone go about explaining this? I looked around waiting for someone to speak. Michael held the very first Animorphs and he was reading between a few yawns every ten minutes or so.  
  
I learned something that morning: Sari had read Animorphs up to book four, when her mom told her to read more adult books. She had the book we need right then at that moment to let everyone learn about the Yeerks. Book number one: The Invasion was all about the war's beginning and held the most valuable information about the war in its pages.  
  
No one talked; this meeting was going no where fast. Someone had to start talking soon.   
  
Seeing as how no one spoke, I did. "I got a call from Jake last night. Well, Sari did but I answered and talked."  
  
Michael shut the book suddenly. "You got a call from Jake? Jake, the leader of the Animorphs and the one who started these books?"  
  
"Yeah, and Ax was in the background. He had traced the signal given off by the holographic disk. It was crazy…"  
  
Michael cut me off, "What did he say?"  
  
"Nothing really, I told him I knew what was going on and that was that. Nothing major in our conversation."  
  
"You hung up on him?"  
  
"How would you know?" I asked hotly.  
  
"Because hanging up on someone important is like you."  
  
I dropped it, this was one thing I wasn't going to win because it was true; I had hung up on him. Now it was time to figure something new out, how to work the blue box. It didn't seem to hard in the books, you just touch in and bang, you have the power. I reached out for the box and pressed it between my hands looking at it, where was an on button when you needed it?   
  
Suddenly I felt a slight shock run through my hands, it didn't hurt. More or less, it tickled. The box had given me the power to morph. I could now morph any creature I touched. I then realized the mistake of hanging up on Jake. We had no ties to the zoo or any animals. To acquire any animal's DNA, we would have to become criminals. This wasn't looking good.  
  
"Here," I held the cube out to Sari, "touch it and don't move your hand until the shock or tickling feeling goes away."  
  
"What? Why?" Sari asked, looking confused.  
  
"This box contains the only weapon we are going to have in fighting the Yeerks, the power to morph. To change into any animal we touch for two hours at a time." I glanced at Michael who was watching me carefully over the book he had reopened. "Come on," I turned from Sari and held the box out to the group as a whole, "this is the only chance we have to fight in the war and win."  
  
Slowly everyone touched the box and then after they pulled away they looked stupidly at there hand. I smiled, "Welcome to hell, boys and girls. We're The Five."  



	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Okay, Animorphic, what next?" Michael asked me.

"I'm not sure." I admitted.

"What?"

"Well, it's not like I've been in this war before. How am I supposed to know what to do first? We need battle morphs but how are we going to go about getting them?" I was starting to loose my cool.

Michael looked at Sari. "Do you still have your parrot?" 

"Yeah, I still have Strawberry. Why?" Sari replied with confusion in her voice.

"Okay, here's what we'll do: We will acquire Strawberry and fly to the zoo as a parrot. Yeah, it will look out of place but we don't have much in the way of a choice. Then we can fly into the cages and acquire the animals." Michael said.

"Sounds like a plan to me." John said for the first time in a while.

We all walked down to Sari's room where Strawberry's cage was still covered. Strawberry was Sari's mostly red parrot and she could be very annoying sometimes. Without taking the cover off, Sari pulled Strawberry out for us to see her. Strawberry flapped her wings and tried to fly away from all the people but Sari had Strawberry's claws with her thumb.

"So how does this work?" Sari asked me.

"Just concentrate on the bird. You might have to close your eyes but it'll work and the bird will go into a trance." 

Sari shut her eyes; the bird continued to flap but started to slow down after a moment until it looked like it was asleep again. After opening her eyes she passed the bird to Michael, then from Michael it went to John and Tyler, then to me. I closed my eyes with the bird resting on my hand, I didn't hear anything while I pictured the bird on my hand and there wasn't really a feeling to it. After a moment the bird started to flap again and I figured the acquiring was completed.

Sari took Strawberry and placed her back in the cage. Then turned to the group. I then realized a problem.

"We aren't going to have any clothes on until we get morphing suits." I said suddenly and then watched as everyone looked silently at me. "We aren't going to be able to morph normal clothes yet because we don't have the practice we need. We will be able to morph anything skin tight though."

"Okay," Michael said, "everyone go home and change into something skin tight, morph, and we'll me up at the tiger's area at the Zoo."

"Great, just one question." John asked. "How do we morph?"

Once again everyone was looking at me. "Just concentrate on the animal and it'll just happen I guess. I don't really know."

With that, everyone went his or her separate way except me. I couldn't go home yet and so I just borrowed one of Sari's suits. After giving Sari a reassuring talk about how it's going to be scary but you have to do it anyway, I closed my eyes and concentrated on Strawberry's DNA.

The next thing I knew was that I was quickly becoming six inches high. The ground was rushing up at me like I was falling without leaving the ground. As soon as I became a six inch high human, my arms grew a little longer and feathers were randomly popping out of my skin. They weren't red though; they were still my normal skin peach color.

My legs moved up some and I shrank even more as my leg turned hard into claws. I felt the insides move around and my back slanted over causing me to loose my balance but my feathered tail gave me back the balance I had lost. 

My body was completely a bird except for my head. My top lip melted into my nose and elongated becoming hard after a moment to form a peach covered beak. Then it was as if some had decided to paint me because at first my beak became the yellow-orange of Strawberry's followed bye the bright red body. I was now completely a parrot.

Sari, I said to her, You can talk by thinking what you want to say and who you want to say it to.

I noticed she'd finished her morph also and was flapping her wings, testing them out. I guess she was figuring out how to use them.

This is so weird, she said to me, I can feel the bird part of me and it.. It's just weird.

Yeah and that bird is the one who knows how to fly so let it take over and you just give it directions. We need to get going, our morphing clock is ticking.

I spread my wings and flew out the open window. Sari must have opened it before she started her morph because I had forgotten about it. Flying was amazing. I'd never felt so free in my life and I just wished I could do that forever and be free in the sky but I knew I had a mission to fill and I banked right and flew on to the zoo. Sari was close behind me and in the distance I saw two other parrots flying towards the zoo. 

I knew this would look strange to any bird watcher, but I didn't care at that moment. All I wanted was to get to the zoo as soon as I could to get my next morph.

The tiger cage was at the far end of the zoo, and I already saw three other parrots sitting on the top of the cage.

Well, if this doesn't look conspicuous. I said to them all. Any human would know something was right about this and any Yeerk would instantly know those weren't parrots.

Well, it's not like we planned this out completely, Michael said. The others had obviously figured out the thought-speech ability already.

Well we should have. One of these days, no planning is going to get us killed, understand? I don't see how you guys don't realize that. John seemed a little more uptight than from earlier. I wondered just how many wholes he had found in this plan.

Suddenly I realized something I hadn't before: the Animorphs had used the Gardens to get their animals. This zoo was probably being watched a ton. _Well, if this isn't good, I don't know what is._ I thought to myself.

Look, let's just get our morphs and get out before we get seen. I said quickly.

Right, Michael began, I've already gotten this tiger morph and John got the other tiger. Anyone else want a tiger as a battle morph?

Uh, guys… John's voice was shaky. Remember what Laura said about not being seen? Well, we've been seen.

I looked around but didn't see anything. The zoo had just opened so not many people were here yet, that would change within the next hour.

What are you talking about? I don't see anything… Sari. Her voice was different, more excited than it had been. I didn't think she would take to the war like I had but then this wasn't that dangerous of a battle. This wasn't a battle at all…

TTTSSSEEEWW!

Yet…

Okay, I suddenly regret not thinking this one out completely. I said as I took off towards the sky.

You aren't the only one, Michael said privately to me, then to everyone, Okay, split up and just worry about getting yourselves out of here. We'll meet back at Sari's in an hour, got it?

I banked off, not worrying about an answer and headed to the rhino cage. Michael said to get home, he didn't say not to get your morph first. I looked down to see someone following me closely with a Dracon. This would be bad if they caught me. I suddenly had an idea and began to fly slower as I neared the rhino cage.

The Controller raised his Dracon at me and screamed, "THIS TIME YOU DIE, ANDALITE!"

TTTSSSEEEWW!

I banked slightly so the Dracon beam would miss me and then started to fall, right into the rhino cage. I didn't flap or try to stop myself, I just fell and then I hit the grass with a small thump. I didn't move, eyes barely open.

_Oh please don't let a rhino come over here. That would so screw up my plan. _I thought to myself.

"Is it dead?" I heard a voice from outside the cage say.

"If that Andalite isn't, it will be. Those rhinos will kill it a few times over." A second voice replied.

The two people walked off and I hoped up and walked to a hidden spot behind some bushes to demorph. I kept a look out for anyone watching and didn't pay to much attention to the morph.

I backed up a little once the morph was complete and came face to face with a snorting rhino. His eyes were red with anger, and he was pawing the ground like he was about to charge right through me.

"Good rhino." I said with a trembling voice as I reached out a hand for his horn.

The rhino snorted again and I grabbed his horn and concentrated sending the rhino into the acquiring trance. He went so into this trance that he completely collapsed and nearly squashed my foot. I let him go and began my morph back to parrot. 

I was about half way through when the rhino woke up and started to snort again. He stood up and glared at me. My arms were the last things to change to wings, and the instant they were done I took off. The rhino yelled and stomped the ground but didn't charge. He knew I was gone.

I took off over the cage; the spectators of the rhino cage were all in awe. The zoo was filling fast and I flew as fast as I could. I noticed the controller who had shot at me earlier was carrying a cage into a room. The room contained stairs that led down into darkness, and the cage contained a red parrot.


End file.
